


freckles and constellations (they draw me a map to your heart)

by OceanMyth



Series: Ocean's ATLA Drabbles, Oneshots, and Ficlets [30]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: F/F, First Kiss, Fluff, Kyoshi Island, Traditions, i guess, past Sokka/Suki mentioned, suki's freckles, they are new girlfriends and still a little awkward about it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-23
Updated: 2021-01-23
Packaged: 2021-03-15 19:34:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28943787
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OceanMyth/pseuds/OceanMyth
Summary: Most of Suki’s freckles are faint, barely visible unless you are lucky enough to get as close as Ty Lee is now, but there are a few large and dark ones dotted across Suki’s arm. A cluster at her wrist, a few sprinkled across her elbow, and a trail dusted across her bicep.Ty Lee’s finger pauses against Suki’s bicep as it flexes and shifts.“What are you doing?” Suki asks, bemused.
Relationships: Suki/Ty Lee (Avatar)
Series: Ocean's ATLA Drabbles, Oneshots, and Ficlets [30]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2113209
Comments: 5
Kudos: 16





	freckles and constellations (they draw me a map to your heart)

Ty Lee’s hand is on Suki’s arm. 

She traces one finger along it, keeping the pressure faint. Swooping back and forth, doubling back and around, connecting from one freckle to the next without stopping, taking the time to memorize each one.

Most of Suki’s freckles are faint, barely visible unless you are lucky enough to get as close as Ty Lee is now, but there are a few large and dark ones dotted across Suki’s arm. A cluster at her wrist, a few sprinkled across her elbow, and a trail dusted across her bicep.

Ty Lee’s finger pauses against Suki’s bicep as it flexes and shifts.

“What are you doing?” Suki asks, bemused.

“I’m drawing constellations out of your freckles!” Ty Lee answers, though it isn’t completely true. There is a part of her that isn’t focused on the shapes and patterns she’s tracing but instead just enjoying her freedom to touch Suki for simply the sake of touching and not needing to fabricate a thousand little excuses to herself anymore. It had been tiring, to try and convince herself that she was allowed to give the other girl a hug without it being weird. “Has nobody ever done that before?”

“No they haven’t,” Suki says. 

Ty Lee frowns. “That’s weird. I’ve wanted to do this for  _ ages _ , but we weren’t dating then so… Um! This tree is a very old one isn’t it Suki?” 

Her cheeks are probably more flushed than they’ve been in  _ years _ .

Suki laughs at her, but then her free hand is playing with the end of Ty Lee’s braid and she’s not nearly as embarrassed about revealing the attention she has always paid Suki’s freckles any more.

“Yeah, it is an old tree— one of the oldest on the island. Supposedly this tree was first planted when Avatar Kyoshi and her beloved settled down here for good, but who knows. Either way it’s very old, and according to tradition, supposed to bring good times and strong ties to couples who kiss under it.” 

Ty Lee looks up at the tree again. The trunk is old and gnarled, fat and lumpy. It’s very healthy for a tree as old as Suki says it is, healthy except for the blackened burn sitting midway up the trunk. Suki had told her about the time Zuko had set fire to Yokoya, but it’s different, finding the scars and seeing them for herself.

“Is that why you brought me here?” Ty Lee teases, telling herself that she’ll think about the damage and the war later. 

Right now the sky is clear and the sun is bright and she has all of Suki’s attention.

  
  
“Maybe.” Suki looks up into the branches too. “I didn’t bring Sokka here ever— you remember how he feels about superstitions and traditions like that— and I can’t help feeling like it's part of the reason we didn’t last as long as I wanted.” 

Ty Lee winces, and tries to figure out what to say in response. 

Suki’s raw emotional honesty frightens her sometimes, the blunt and easy way she says things that Ty Lee would have been dancing around for hours. She wishes she could be that upfront and bold— but when it comes to the quiet moments between the two of them, it’s awe-inspiring in every definition of the word awe. Frightening her as much as it inspires her.

A glint of yellow catches her eye, as she tries to figure out what to do. A single leaf, bright and burnished gold like the rest of the fallen leaves scattered around them, is caught in Suki’s hair, and Ty Lee reaches up towards it. Suki catches her hand like a reflex, what would have been a sharp block turning into a gentle grasp around her wrist. 

Suki can probably feel her heart racing like she’s about to throw herself into the air for the trapeze.

“You— in your hair,” she says quickly, and Suki lets go of her wrist with an embarrassed blush of her own. Ty Lee tries to untangle the leaf as fast as she can without breaking it apart in Suki’s hair, but somehow it turns into her cupping Suki’s cheek and tracing her thumb across the freckles.

“About bringing me here— you want this to last?” Ty Lee asks finally, tucking her legs under herself and leaning towards Suki. The tips of her knees rest against Suki’s and Ty Lee is still thrilled to be able to touch her without thinking, in these soft and careless ways. 

Her hand hasn’t moved from Suki’s face.

Suki is leaning against it ever so slightly, her chin tucked against Ty Lee’s palm.

“I thought that was obvious.” Suki’s breath is tickling against Ty Lee’s fingertips with every word. Her voice is soft and teasing, but there’s a tightness at the corners of her eyes, and Ty Lee knows how nerve wracking it can be to throw yourself into the air and hope your partner will be there to catch you. 

“What was the rest of that tradition again?” Ty Lee asks, with a bright grin.

She hasn’t managed to get the grin under control when Suki leans in for the kiss.

**Author's Note:**

> i love freckled!Suki and i am willing to try and convert others to the cause.  
> Also this was hella self indulgent but who cares, the fandom needs more Tysuki.
> 
> scream at me in the comments or @justoceanmyth on tumblr. I will scream back I promise (at least i'm trying to get better about screaming back)


End file.
